October 31, 2006

For some time Whitney Houston had denied having any kind of substance abuse problem and her erratic behavior was blamed on a variety of things, none of which had anything to do with drugs or alcohol.

Not too long ago she finally decided to enter a rehab facility, and that lead to her filing for divorce from her husband of 14 years, Bobby Brown.

This past Saturday Houston made a surprise appearance at a charity benefit in Beverly Hills. And to say she looks amazing would be a colossal understatement. Besides being newly blonde, Houston looked happy, relaxed and fit. Her weight had fluctuated recently from being slim to being frighteningly thin.

She didn't sing at the benefit, but if her life is in as good a shape as she looks, then I hope we can look forward to new music from her and future performances.

I don't pretend to know the daily difficulties someone of her ilk suffers. I know that sometimes my life seems terribly out of order and I don't have a cadre of photographers recording my every move. I can't imagine how I would handle it. Not very well I'm sure.

Regardless of the reason, I hope Houston can take one day as it comes, and that those days will string together to form the resumption of a terrific life entertaining millions with that amazing voice that only Whitney Houston possesses.

October 30, 2006

I'm not one much for the whole who's marrying whom, or who's sleeping with whomever, but this one took me a little by surprise.

It was announced today that Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe have decided to formally split. The two have been married for about seven years and have two children.

Of course, the split may very well have something to do with the order in which I've listed their names. I don't know that this is the case, but it wouldn't be the first time actors have split because one becomes more popular than the other.

Way back when, Ryan was the breakout talent. With a star making turn in White Squall, he followed that with memorable performances in I Know What You Did Last Summer and 54 to name only a few, and his future was assured.

It is said the two met at Witherspoon's 1997 Birthday Party and later starred in Cruel Intentions (the updated version of Les Liaisons Dangereuses) which was filmed in 1998. The two, supposedly, have been together ever since.

Of course Witherspoon's career has been pretty stellar as well, appearing in one critically acclaimed film after another. It was really only a matter of a short time before she would be nominated for an Academy Award. Which she was in 2006 and also won.

Whatever the reason may be for the split up, it's really too bad. Both are very talented actors who have big and bright futures still ahead of them. And both seem to be, and have said in their statement that they remain, committed to their family, so hopefully this will resolve in a positive way for all involved.

There's a saying in Hollywood that you're only as big as your last picture. The thought, of course, is that if you create a series of flops, no one is going to hire you.

Of course that adage really isn't true, and we can all think of some "A" list talent who have been in features that have failed to ignite interest at the box office, only to see them again headline another big budget opening.

But the story of Sacha Baron Cohen is a different one. In fact, the advanced publicity for his new feature Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, has been so big that a veritable feeding frenzy between studios for his next feature has erupted. And the winner is Universal who, it is reported, has shelled out in excess of $40,000,000 for his next picture. Without Borat even having been released.

If the story wasn't odd enough, though the film has received mostly positive reviews, apparently audiences have had mixed reactions. Basically the film hasn't tested as well as execs had hoped. So, in a surprise move last week, Fox has decided to cut some 2000 screens for the initial release of Borat, instead only allowing about 800 theater to exhibit the film.

I'm not sure what the strategy is here, unless they feel opening it in limited release will generate huge per theater numbers, which, in turn, may create media buzz, and then the film may do well on that alone.

But in any case, you've got to be a happy man when studios are willing to fight for your next film based on the success of your current film, that hasn't even been released.

October 27, 2006

I've never been much of a breakfast eater. Which is odd if you know me, to think there isn't much I don't eat. But it's true. Don't normally do breakfast. Which, of course, is not to say I don't have breakfast every now and then. It's just one of my daily routines.

When I was a kid I had pretty standard breakfast fare. Mostly eggs or pancakes or, on weekends, fresh made waffles, even cereal from time to time. And when I was a kid cereal of choice was either Cap'n Crunch, or Cheerios. Which, come to think of it, couldn't be farther apart in the cereal category. The Cap'n was full of sweet crunchy goodness, and Cheerios was ... well, it wasn't. It was full of a very cool oaty flavor that was good with just a little sugar. Too much and it ruined the taste for me. And I normally have a sweet tooth.

Long story ... well, longer I guess. The other day I was shopping and had a coupon for some General Mills cereal. A dollar a box was the price, and for anyone who does the shopping, you know that's a steal.

Problem was the cereals were limited to only three brands. Cheerios (Yea!) Trix (which I used to also have as a kid) and Cocoa Puffs.

With a limit of three dictated by the coupon, I decided upon two boxes of Cheerios and something different. I went for the Cocoa Puffs.

I should say here I'm not a big chocolate fan. I mean I'll eat it, I don't hate it, but it just doesn't drive me crazy as it does some of my friends. I like chocolate pudding, but when it comes to cakes, I'll always opt for the white cake with white frosting. Chocolate bars? Yeah, but white chocolate is cool too. I guess I'm saying chocolate is good stuff, it's just not crazy great stuff.

So imagine my surprise when I tried the chocolaty breakfast cereal and fell in love with it. And at only 110 calories per serving, it sure beats some other breakfast foods.

Of course, I'm still not a big breakfast eater, but on the weekends, when I get up late, I look forward to the choice of Cheerios, or Cocoa Puffs, knowing full well, both will be a treat. And Cocoa Puffs actually makes the milk (or Rice Dream in my case) turn into chocolate milk .. er Dream. Anyway.

I can finally say what kids have been saying for many years now; I'm Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs.

October 26, 2006

I had a very long post here about Michael J. Fox and Rush Limbaugh. But I erased it.

The fact that I was devoting time to a situation that should be seen on its face, and not for the outrageous comments of a self proclaimed "entertainer" who lives life on a double standard, was just more than I cared to do.

Tonight, the CBS News proved that it is still broadcast on the Tiffany Network. Katie Couric had an exclusive and insightful sit down discussion with Fox on the situation at hand, as well as the disease he's living with.

Without worrying about being viewed as being one sided or taking part in politics as usual, Couric and CBS News should be commended for taking the time to try and explain a situation that, quite honestly, was baffling from the moment Limbaugh made those comments. Here's a link.

They say you should be careful what you wish for. I guess the meaning is that it might be easier to deal with something that isn't tangible than when it becomes a reality.

I can agree with this at times. And other times not. Like, for example, winning the lottery. I'd like to wish for that and have it come true. Yeah, I know, people say that having more money just means having more problems. And, of course, I'm sure that saying is repeated by people who actually HAVE more money. Still, I'd like to experience what it's like to have more money than I need.

Sadly my dilemma isn't a huge influx of money. But I'm faced with a whole bunch of things happening at the same time. I'm very grateful for all of them, but just a little overwhelmed.

I think I could get used to this. Or better yet. I hope I can get used to this.

October 24, 2006

While I wouldn't want the job of customs officials, I'm sure their job is difficult enough without this recent article.

While they are tasked with making sure your photo matches your passport, and that you aren't bringing in dangerous plants or animals, or that you are actually coming to the United States for whatever reason you say youa re, Apparently they have even more important duties at hand. Those duties? Well, cracking down on the import of Vegemite.

You remember Vegemite don't you ? It's that Yeast spread that's extremely salty and Australians and New Zealander's eat it up like ... well, Vegemite.

Apparently the spread is infused with high doses of Folate, B a vitamin which is only approved in the United States for a select number of foods and apparently Vegemite isn't one of them.

While, in the past, a few jars of the tasty spread could pass through customs without anyone batting an eye, for some reason the native food is now being targeted and ex pats, are not too happy about it.

I'm not sure what the health issues are here about Folate, but I do know that in Australia Vegemite is fed to nearly every child and is to Australians what Caster Oil may have been to American's years ago.

Of course while many American's consider Vegemite on a par with Caster Oil in the taste department, Australians have a very different opinion.

And I have to agree with them. While I would never eat a spoon full of Vegemite, it really is good on toast with a little unsalted butter and a cup of coffee...the coffee in a cup, not on the toast.

I certainly don't pretend to know why the food spread is being targeted, but with talk of terrorism, illegal immigrants and drugs flowing into our nation, I would think Vegemite could be on the bottom of that ever growing list.

October 23, 2006

I'm not exactly sure what I expected from this Robin Williams vehicle.

I enjoy Williams most of the time, though his comedy is so out there sometimes that I get lost. But when he's good, he's very good. Maybe I expected more of Williams in this movie.

I also enjoy Christopher Walken. Actually I can't think of something I've seen him in that I didn't enjoy his performance, and he's good in this too.

And the premise of a John Stewart type comedian becoming president had a lot of possibilities, especially when written and directed by the likes of Barry Levinson who gave us, among many others, Wag The Dog.

For me, the problem with this movie is it didn't really know what it wanted to be. Was it a comedy? A mystery? A love story? Or was it a satire on today's political environment? The truth is it was all of those, and ultimately, none of them.

The story of a comedian who becomes president not so much because of what he says, but because of a colossal voter computer glitch (ala Diebold) is a perfect foundation for a comedy. Or a mystery, or a love story, or a satire on today's political environment. But when you mix all four, you get a film that has some laughs, some brutality, some tender moments, and some suspense that just leaves you frustrated.

The bottom line is it just isn't very believable. If they had picked one or two of those plot devices it might have worked, but it doesn't. And that's really too bad. Because Man Of The Year brings up some very good points about technology and the electoral process.

A throwaway line in the background of a newscast has the anchor talking about the irregularities in the exit polling and the actual votes cast. And we've all heard of this, most especially in the 2004 presidential election. And it becomes even more pertinent when real life reports that at least one county in Ohio (ultimately the deciding state in that election) had more people vote than were registered to do so. But again, this is just a throwaway line.

Robin Williams is very restrained as Tom Dobbs, the comedian president-elect. And this is actually a good thing. Even though the set up to the entire story is flimsy at best, once in front of the electorate, it's easy to believe that he could garner at least some votes. And his personal relationship with Laura Linney the former employee of the computer company, who tries to expose the computer error, is touching. But we don't have the luxury of watching that relationship grow.

Between the one liners, the "is he or isn't he" really the president, the attempts on Linney's life and everything else. The movie just falls apart.

Again, if it had followed just one or two of the plots, it would have been a more concise movie and could have addressed the issues of contemporary media in today's politics. Or it could have poked fun at that topic and left the audience wondering how much was made up and how much was true.

Robin Williams, Christopher Walken and Laura Linney deliver good performances and they shouldn't be faulted for this blunder. And casting by Pam Dixon is top notch with a lot of great talent, some of whom have surprisingly meager credits for a film with above the line talent of this caliber.

Just like the last two presidential elections, there was much hope here, but in the end, it just turned into a train wreck.